UN rushes to help pregnant women in cyclone-affected Bangladesh

United Nations agency yesterday announced it is to provide aid to pregnant women affected in cyclone-hit areas in Bangladesh.

With some 30,000 babies expected to be born in the coming months in cyclone-hit parts of Bangladesh, the United Nations Population Fund Agency (UNPFA) said it is planning to help pregnant women there avoid life-threatening delivery complications.

According to UNPFA, out of the 6.7 million people affected by the storm which hit in mid-November, 30,000 women are carrying third-trimester pregnancies. It warned that almost 4,500 of them “are likely to experience potentially life-threatening complications.”

UNFPA said it is sending reproductive health kits equipped with intravenous fluids and drip sets, antibiotics, pain killers, syringes, sterile gloves and a small sterilizing machine, all to help prevent maternal deaths and disabilities.

The agency also said it is providing other safe motherhood services to women who come to designated facilities for delivery.